Rapid Response Team Deploying to N.C. Mountain Town Flooding

For the first time in three years, the counties in North Carolina are 100 percent drought-free.

Although for some counties, that’s nothing to celebrate.

Caldwell County — which spans the Blue Ridge Mountains to the piedmont region northwest of Charlotte, N.C. — has endured more than its share of rain.

Even before July 12, many streets had been closed due to flooding.

But when a microburst opened up that night in Collettsville, N.C., bringing down 5 to 7 inches of rain per hour, the one-time creeks were suddenly raging rivers. Trees started popping out of the ground.

“The ground already was saturated,” said Jack Munday, international director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. “And then an enormous amount of rain fell on Friday night.”

The Rapid Response Team, in conjunction with Samaritan’s Purse, is deploying to this town of just over 800 residents, to help meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

“It’s a small community, a hard-working community, but the resources are limited,” Munday said. “They’ve been working all weekend in an effort to clear the debris. We just want to come alongside them and encourage them.”

It’s been a busy summer for the Rapid Response Team, as chaplains have deployed to wildfires in both Colorado and Arizona and tornadoes in Oklahoma and Texas.

While the N.C. deployment is not as widespread, it doesn’t minimize the personal chaos residents are experiencing.

“Being a neighbor here in North Carolina, we just want to respond and do what we can,” Munday said. “Although it’s a small community the devastation to a homeowner is sometimes more than they can bear.”

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Founded in the wake of 9/11, the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team has ministered to over 110,000 people around the world-yet countless more struggle through crisis without hope.